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People's Democratic Republic of Algeria
Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research
MOHAMED SEDDIK BEN YAHIA UNIVERSITY- JIJEL
FACULTY OF LETTERS and LANGUAGES
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH
A Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment for the requirements of the
Master Degree in Language Sciences
Submitted by: BENASKEUR Souhil
Supervisor: Ziad Khaled
BENSEGHIER Radja
Board of Examiners
Chair Person Bennasser Fouzia (University of Jijel)
Supervisor Ziad Khaled (University of Mila)
2013
A Descriptive Study of a Problems that Hinders Students’ Reading
Comprehension
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People's Democratic Republic of Algeria
Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research
MOHAMED SEDDIK BEN YAHIA UNIVERSITY- JIJEL
FACULTY OF LETTERS and LANGUAGES
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH
A Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment for the requirements of the
Master Degree in Language Sciences
Submitted by: BENASKEUR Souhil
Supervisor: Ziad Khaled
BENSEGHIER Radja
Board of Examiners
Chair Person Bennasser Fouzia (University of Jijel)
Supervisor Ziad Khaled (University of Mila)
2013
A Descriptive Study of some Problems that Hinders Students’ Reading
Comprehension
iii
“Curiosity is the wick in the candle of learning”
William A. Ward
Professor and Egyptologistiv
DEDICATION
In the Name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful, All the Praise is due to God alone, the Sustainer of all the worlds
First and foremost, we would give our undeniable and unforgettable thanks to the most graceful and most compassionate, the Almightily (Allah), as He ought to be glorified and praised.
We dedicate this work:
To all the members of our families, especially to whom paradise is under their feet, our mothers. To our fathers, for we are the fruits of their sacrifices,
To all the teachers who have taught English in Mila University Centre, with no exceptions, for they were so kind with us,
To all our colleagues, who have studied with us, in Mila University Centre, especially to DAAS Houssem, and in memory of the pure spirit of his mother, who has left this world to a better one,
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We are very pleased to express our gratitude to Mr. Ziad Khaled, our supervisor. Without his wise guidance, encouragement and support, we would never finish this work with ease. We are also grateful for him as he sacrificed his time and effort for the sake of helping us. Again, thank you Mr. Ziad Khaled for you did your best to help us.
We are deeply indebted to Mr. BOULEKROUN Fouad for his help and advice.
We would like to thank the members of the board of examiners who have kindly accepted to examine the present dissertation.
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Abstract
The following study is meant to investigate a problem that may contribute and affect the reading comprehension task of students of English. That problem is the misuse or the non-use of reading strategies by students of English as a foreign language. Second year university students of English at the level of Mila University Centre, have been our population of the study. The hypothesis of this study is that Second Year Students of English are not aware of the importance of using the right reading strategies while reading. In case it is true, those students will certainly face problems in reading comprehension. In order to check whether this hypothesis applies for second year university students of English, a questionnaire containing 21questions has been delivered to a sample of 25 students. The data obtained from that questionnaire demonstrates that the majority of students exhibit an unconscious knowledge of reading strategies. Sometimes they use that knowledge optimally, but most of the time they misuse it.
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List of Abbreviation
D: Decoding
E.A.P: English for Academic Purposes E.F.L: English as a Foreign Language E.S.P: English for Specific Purposes FL: Foreign Language
FVR: Free Voluntary Reading
ICTs: Information and Communication Technology IM: Inferential Mediation
L2: Second Language
LC: Linguistic Comprehension MCQs: Multiple Choice Questions LMD: License-Master-Doctorat N: Number of Subjects
N.R.P: National Reading Panel
OERP: The Ontario Education Research Panel RC: Reading Comprehension
RAND R.R.S.G: RAND Reading Study Group SL: Second Language
viii SDH: Structural Deficit Hypothesis
S.V.R: Simple View of Reading TV: Television
ix List of Figures
Figure 01 A Heuristic for Thinking About Reading Comprehension (Adapted from RAND
Reading Study Group, 2002)………....…....22
Figure 02 The Simple View of Reading (SVR)………...…25
Figure 03 Rate of the Number of Years Exposure to English………....……52
Figure 04 Rate of Students' Choice of Studying English………..……...53
Figure 05 Rate of Students' General Attitude towards Reading………..……...54
Figure 06 Rate of Students’ Attitude about Reading Novels……….………..56
Figure 07 Rate of Novels Reading Amount by Students...57
Figure 08 Rate of Intentional Use of Scanning as a Reading Strategy...58
Figure 09 Rate of the Motivation Behind the Students Behaviour of Reading...59
Figure 10 Rate of Books Availability at the Level of the Students' University...60
Figure 11 Rate of Time Spent by the Students in Reading at the Level of the Libraries in their University...61
Figure 12 Rate of Students’ Level in English………...…...…62
Figure 13 Rate of Students' Awareness about Reading Strategies……….…...…63
Figure 14 Rate of the Immediate Use of the Dictionary by the Students……..…….…..…...65
x Figure 16 The Frequency of Dictionary Use by Students...67 Figure 17 Rate of The Method that is Used by the Students to Discover a New Vocabulary
Item………….………...………...………...…….69
Figure 18 Rate of the Relationship between Students Understanding and Use of Background Knowledge...………...……….….……..70
Figure 19 Rate of the Aspects on which the Students Concentrate more……….…....…...71 Figure 20 Rate of Students' Fear of Reading out loud in Front of Teachers and Classmates...72
Figure 21 Rate of the Contribution of Motivation in Helping the Students' Comprehension of Written Texts...………..…..…….73
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List of Tables
Table 01: Ogle’s (1987) K-W-L Chart...28
Table 02 The number of years of exposure to English………..………..…51
Table 03 Students’ choice of studying English………..………..…52
Table 04 Students' General Attitude towards Reading...53
Table 05 The Students’ Preferences Concerning the Materials they Like to Read...55
Table 06 Students’ Attitude about Reading Novels...55
Table 07 The Frequency of Reading Novels by the Students...56
Table 08 The Intentional Use of Scanning as a Reading Strategy...57
Table 09 The Motivation Behind the Students Behaviour of Reading...59
Table 10 Books Availability at the Level of the Students' University...60
Table 11 The Time Spent by the Students in Reading at the Level of the Libraries in their Universities...61
Table 12 Students’ Level in English………62
Table 13 Students’ Awareness about Reading Strategies………63
Table 14 the Immediate Use of the Dictionary by the Students...64
Table 15 The Type of the Dictionary Used by the Students...65
xii Table 17 The Method that is used by the Students to Discover a New Vocabulary Item...68 Table 18 The Students' Relation between what they Understand with their Background
Knowledge...69
Table 19 The aspects on which the students concentrate more...71 Table 20 The Students' Fear of Reading in Front of Teachers and Classmates...72 Table 21 The contribution of Motivation in helping the Students' Comprehension of Written Texts...73
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Table of Contents
General Introduction1. Statement of the Problem……….…………01
2. Aim of the Study………..01
3. Hypotheses………...……02
4. Means of Research………...02
5. Structure of the Dissertation………...…...02
Chapter I : Reading Skill Introduction………..03
I.1. Definition of Reading ……….03
I.2. Types of Reading ………..05
I.2.1. Extensive Reading……….06
I.2.2. Intensive Reading………..….07
I.3. Models of Reading ……….08
I.3.1. Bottom up Model………...09
I.3.2. Top down Model ………...…09
I.3.3. Interactive Model ……….…….11
I.3.4. Transactional Model ……….11
I.4. Reading Strategies ………...13
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I.4.2. Scanning ………...15
I.4.3. Reading between the Lines ………17
I.5. Reading Assessment ……….17
Conclusion ………..19
Chapter II : Reading Comprehension Introduction ……….20
II.1. Definition of Reading Comprehension ………..…20
II.2. Levels of Reading Comprehension ……….……….22
II.2.1. Decoding ………..23
II.2.1. Linguistic Comprehension ………...……….24
II.3. Components of Reading Comprehension ……..………...25
II.3.1. Background knowledge ………...25
II.3.2. Inferencing ……….25
II.3.3. Strategies……….26
II.3.4. Vocabulory………....…27
II.3.5. Word Reading...……….….27
II.4. Reading Comprehension Strategies………..…28
II.4.1. Activating or Building Background Knowledge………...…28
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II.4.3. Questioning……….…...….29
II.4.4. Making Predictions and Inferences………...…...30
II.4.5. Determining main ideas………...…..30
II.4.6. Using fix-up options………..….30
II.4.7. Synthesizing……….……...31
II.5. Factors Affecting Reading comprehension………..…31
II.5.1. Text Variables……….32
II.5.1.1. Vocabulory………..…32
II.5.1.2. Text Type………....33
II.5.1.3. Coherence and Cohesion………..…33
II.5.1.4. Automaticity………..….34
II.5.1.5. Syntax………..35
II.5.2. Reader Variables ……….36
II.5.2.1. Purpose of Reading .………..36
II.5.2.2. Interest level in the Text ………...37
II.5.2.3. Reader’s language proficiency ……….…37
II.5.2.4. Culture ………...38
II.5.2.5. Knowledge of the Topic………38
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II.6.1. The Pre-reading Phase………..….39
II.6.2. The While-reading Phase ...………39
II.6.3. The Post-reading Phase ……….39
II.7. Measuring Reading Comprehension ………...……….40
II.7.1. Cloze Procedure ……….40
II.7.2. Multiple Choice Questions ………..41
Conclusion………....41
Chapter III : The Fieldwork Introduction……….………..…42
III.1. Population of the Study…….………...……….42
III.2. The Sample .………..….42
III.3. Description of the Questionnaire ………...………....43
III.4. Analysis of the results……….………..51
III.5. Discussion of the results………...75
III.6. Pedagogical Implications………….……….84
III.7. Limitations of the Study……….………..…….86
Conclusion………....87
General Conclusion……….….88
17 Appendices
Summary in French
18
General Introduction
1. Statement of the Problem……….…………01
2. Aim of the Study………..01
3. Hypotheses………...……02
4. Means of Research………...02
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General Introduction
1. Statement of the Problem
Learning a foreign language is a multi-dimensional process that requires the development of all the skills that shape that language. Those skills often include reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Some linguists tend to classify the latter into receptive skills (reading and listening) and productive ones (writing and speaking).
Although all the above mentioned skills have equally received considerable amounts of study, research in reading seems to continue attracting many researchers' attention. A plethora of books, articles and dissertations have been written by so many authors who spent a great deal of time in approaching the ultimate truth about reading.
Reading chaotically (without conscious use of strategies) is a very common problem. Such behaviour hardens comprehension. Readers of English as a foreign language ( EFL) develop their reading skills in order to facilitate comprehension of any readable piece of writing. Yet, reading strategies and reading models are taught to learners of EFL for the sake of handling reading obstacles. So, good readers are said to implement the appropriate and the most effective reading strategies according to each particular context that surrounds the texts being read. But, do Algerian university students of English as a foreign language use each strategy in its appropriate place? Put another way, do they use them in an orchestrated way?
2. Aim of the Study
The purpose of the present study is merely descriptive, in the sense that, it attempts to explore some of the problems, if not all, which stand behind Algerian Foreign language students' inability in reading comprehension. In order to make this study more amenable to
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investigation, a special focus will be on reading strategies since they ostensibly represent most of the students' troubles.
3. Hypotheses
For the purpose of this study, the following hypothesis are put forward:
1. Second Year Students of English are not aware of the usiness of the right reading strategies while reading.
4. Means of Research
For the sake of gathering the necessary data for the present study (knowing some difficulties that hinder students' reading comprehension), a questionnaire was opted for. The latter has been given to second year LMD students in the English Department at Mila University Centre. The results of the students’ questionnaire is analysed in the light of the literature reviewed in the theoretical part.
5. Structure of the Dissertation
This dissertation is basically composed of two parts. The first and the second chapter contain the literature review. Both of them deal with the concept of reading, reading strategies, and reading comprehension. The third chapter is the practical part of the study that represents the field investigation.
The first Chapter is devoted to highlight the notion of reading by providing a historical overview of this concept, its different components, models and approaches.The second chapter provides a detailed explanation of several reading strategies and their relationship towards reading comprehension.The last chapter deals with data analysis. It outlines a detailed analysis of the learners' questionnaire. It will help see whether the results go in the same direction of the hypotheses of the study.
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Chapter I: Reading Skill
Introduction………..03
I.1. Definition of Reading ……….03
I.2. Types of Reading ………..05
I.2.1. Extensive Reading……….06
I.2.2. Intensive Reading………..….07
I.3. Models of Reading ……….08
I.3.1. Bottom up Model………...09
I.3.2. Top down Model ………...…09
I.3.3. Interactive Model ……….…….11
I.3.4. Transactional Model ……….11
I.4. Reading Strategies ………...13
I.4.1. Skimming ……….15
I.4.2. Scanning ………...15
I.4.3. Reading between the Lines ………17
I.5. Reading Assessment ……….17
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Chapter I: Reading Skill
Introduction
The reading skill is very prominent and very important in our lives. Through it, we can access reality as it is represented in the world. Because today's world is based on technology and the language of machine, it would be impossible for an illiterate man, who is not able to read, to use the internet or even read the newspapers.Evidently, linguists have done their best to describe the ambiguous nature of reading. This chapter gives you the opportunity to, theoretically, explore the nature and the components of reading as it is defined by many linguists.It would be insufficient to completely clarify, or limit ourselves in dealing with the notion of reading through just one point of view. Thus, the first section of this chapter reveals some different points of view on reading.
I.1. Definition of reading
Through history, reading has gained a place of paramount importance in the field of language teaching/learning . Still, we need to study every researcher's work on reading to get maximum knowledge about this sophisticated concept. In simple laymen's terms, reading may signify that capability of understanding written language. In what follows are some definitions of reading as viewed by some scholars.
McShane (2005: 07) defines reading as
"A complex system of deriving meaning from print, that requires: an understanding of how speech sounds are related to print, decoding (word identification) skills, fluency, vocabulary and background knowledge, active comprehension strategies, and a motivation to read."
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The previous definition of reading uncovers mostly all the aspects that surround reading as a general concept. McShane reveals that the ultimate goal from reading is understanding the meaning. For such a process to happen, a combination of some cognitive processes must take place in a harmonious synchronization. So, meaning may represent the sum of those cognitive processes that take place in the brain.
Using very simple words, Grabe (2006: 279) defines reading as "a complex cognitive activity, almost a miraculous one, in fact, since it involves the secondary uses of cognitive skills in relatively new ways, at least in terms of evolutionary development". It could be clearly noticed that when Grabe defined reading, he related it directly to cognition. This in turn, may necessitate several technological advancements to reveal what is exactly happening inside our brains during the reading process. This fact may make reading a very complex notion as it involves perception and thought.
According to Alderson (2000: 03), reading reflects the link between a double entity, a process and a product. For him, it is very important to make a distinction between what he calls “the process of reading” and its result, which represents the “product”. Alderson (ibid) states that the process means the interaction between the reader and the text as it is manifested through the same reader, who not only examines the piece of writing being read, but also tries to decipher the marks on the page, and decides what they signify and links them with each other. He also mentions that while reading, the reader is thinking about what he is reading. This signals a possibility that the reader predicts the meaning of the words he is reading through recalling his background knowledge.
Harmer (1983: 153) portrays reading as a behaviourwhich results from the participation processing of the eyes and the brain. He means that the eyes first perceive the graphics of the written print, then it sends it to the brain where it tries to recognise it through
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two possible operations. First, the brain either recognises the meaning of the word through its stored image, or through its relevant sound. In case the brain fails in doing so, it attempts to present the nearest meaning that may look like the original one.
Caroll (1964: 62) attempts to define reading, relating it directly to the phonics that each word represents. According to her, the words are recognised basically on an auditory basis as she described reading as "the activity of reconstructing reasonable spoken message from a printed text and making responses to the reconstructed message that would be made to the spoken message."
A different point of view concerning the essence of reading has been established by Goodman (1971: 135) who depicts reading as "a psycholinguistic guessing game." As opposed to Caroll, Goodman believes that reading is beyond just the auditory decoding principle. He comes with the idea that reading is not passive, but rather a purposeful active behaviour, where the reader participates, to a large extent, in the process of building meaning.
Goodman is not alone in this perspective, Grellet (1981: 07) joins him and supports the idea of guessing as he reveals that guessing about the text could be considered more important than what a text provides. Undoubtedly, Grellet neglects the importance of word recognition, and makes the reader as active as Goodman does.
I.2. Types of Reading
It is certain that, reading does not take place in just only one form or one way. Obviously, reading is meant to help the reader to understand the meaning of written texts.Researchers, including linguists and educators, have categorised reading to consist of some specific types of reading, naming: extensive reading, intensive reading, silent reading,
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reading out loud. This section will, however, deal with only two very types which fall down within the scope of our study: extensive reading and intensive reading.
I.2.1. Extensive Reading
In his attempt to differentiate between extensive and intensive reading, Harmer (2001: 204) suggests that "extensive reading, is often done for pleasure and in a leisurely way… it frequently takes place when the students are on their own, reading materials written especially at their level…". Harmer's point of view about reading reveals that extensive reading is most of the time intentional, as the students tend to read just to satisfy their pleasure. Moreover, as the students read extensively, they read a written input convenient to their level. Extensive reading may occur even with small children as they may read short stories, especially when the stories are depicted in a delightful way through illustrative pictures and photos.
Implementing and introducing extensive reading to the learning process can be very beneficial and profitable. Davis (1995: 335) warns about the neglecting of an extensive reading program as he claims that "…any classroom will be the poorer for the lack of an extensive reading program, and will be unable to promote its pupils’ language development in all aspects as effectively as if such a programs were present". Davis goes further as he emphasises the role of extensive reading in improving the overall comprehension skills of the students (ibid).
Day and Bamford (1998: 12) mention that extensive reading is shaped by two main goals. One is to enable the students to read continuously without stopping. The other goal is meant to increasingly develop the students' word recognition. For them, there is no better way for improving automaticity than extensive reading. That is the automatic recognition of words as immediately seen by the readers.
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Krashen (1983: 53) gives an alternative name to extensive reading. He calls it "free voluntary reading". For Krashen, reading extensively is the key that enables the students to gain reading ability, linguistic competence, vocabulary, spelling and writing. Reading extensively then, is by no means, very profitable.
The importance of extensive reading could be clearly noticed from the above-mentioned passages. This fact may urge the teachers of EFL to encourage and to reinforce this kind of reading. The task of the teachers becomes easier if they really find that the students are cooperating and participating in the learning process as those students develop words' recognition on their own, and through a utilitarian means.
Extensive reading is not the only known type of reading. There is another type, which involves achieving some tasks more than enjoyment.
I.2.2. Intensive Reading
Intensive reading is another different sort of reading. Harmer (2001: 204), describes intensive reading as it "…tends to be more concentrated, less relaxed, and often dedicated not so much to pleasure as to the achievement of a study goal. Intensive reading is often done with and/or intervention of the teacher". Harmer prominently demonstrates the role of the teacher intervening in this kind of reading. He argues that intensive reading is (but, not exclusively) a teacher chosen and directed.
Nuttal (1982: 23) mentions that intensive reading represents the reader's behaviour as s/he tends to explore the meaning so that to be acquainted with the writing mechanisms. The more intensively they read, the better the learners will be equipped with full text comprehension which allows them to form critical views. In this way, the readers develop the ability to express their opinions about the content of texts, including the arguments of the
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type of language used, and the objectives of those texts. Nuttal (ibid), admits that the students, during intensive reading, make some efforts as they are supposed to pay careful attention to the written texts so that they reach a deep and detailed understanding of the texts.
Hafiz and Tudor (1989: 05) argue that the students, when reading intensively, are at a continuous exposure to short texts that carry specific syntactic, lexical or discoursal system of the language, or to provide the basis for targeted reading strategies.
From the afore mentioned definitions of intensive reading, it could be observed that reading intensively is very demanding from the part of readers (the students). The whole process is controlled with the success/failure factor. As opposed to reading extensively which neglects this factor when students read intensively, they find themselves compelled to reach a specific point of success that is mentioned by the teacher or the tutor. They may become bored if they have always to read intensively. As a result, they may completely lose motivation to carry on the reading process in general.
I.3. Models of Reading
It could be worth watching what is going on while someone is reading. we want more than just looking at the eyes of the reader when s/he is reading, as those eyes tend to follow the written text, segment after segment. It could be more interesting if the brain of the reader allows us to investigate what it is happening inside it when reading.
Due to the fact that the human cognition is very complex to be examined in vitro, educators and linguists tried to manifest reading according to some models. What the researchers could do, so far, is to present an abstract depiction of reading. That attempt hoped at providing a scientific theory for reading comprehension. This section of the study deals
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with the four main reading models: the bottom-up model, the top down model, the interactive model, and the transactional model.
I.3.1. Bottom up Model
Gough (1972: 331) proposes that the bottom-up view of reading emphasises the sequential processing from letters, to sounds, to words, to sentences, then finally to meaning. He means by this process of comprehension, that the reader first begins by word recognition as he/she starts from combining the letters of words together. It could be understood that the eyes play a major role by sending the brain symbols of letters to be deciphered. Gough is probably the only one looking at reading in this approach. Davies (1995: 50) describes Gough's models as a reading letter-by-letter progression through the text. This progression is followed by sounds' recognition of those letters until the words. After this, the meaning becomes accessible.
Basically, for the bottom-up model proponents, success in the reading task is guaranteed only if the readers could succeed in the written input identification (word recognition) as this latter, to a large extent, controls the whole reading process
The hierarchy given by Gough may seem logical, but it underestimates the role of the reader, as it describes him/her as just a simple decoder of written symbols. In addition to that, there is something happening in the brain that is beyond what the eyes are doing. Probably what happens at the level of the reader's cognition is much more important than what the eyes do.
I.3.2. Top-down Model
A model as such has come to existence just to make up the shortcomings of its predecessor’s view of reading, which is the bottom-up model. Goodman (1971: 135) does
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several trials to re-portray reading as a "psycholinguistic game". For him, the reader is not just a passive machine. According to him, only a set of cognitive processes can allow us to get meaning from what we read. While reading, the reader take the initiative of predicting what is in the text. At this specific time, the reader checks whether what he/she has predicted goes with what is already available in the text, giving importance that the nature and information found in the text may help the reader in this task. Finally the reader associates his/her predictions with the expected meanings he/she has inside the brain. So, the reader if consideredaccording to the top-down model of reading, would be an active participant in that process as he/she always relates the information he/she finds in the text with the previously acquired linguistic knowledge.
Davies (1995: 61) supports this idea as she claims that the top-down model of reading represents the activation of prior knowledge to construct meaning while reading a text. This model gives little importance to the graphic representation of letter symbols as the reader could reach the meaning from top-downward.
It could be clearly noticed that the top-down model of reading differs, to a large extent, from the previously mentioned: bottom-up model of reading. The former involves the appliance of several advanced cognitive processes. Thus, Prediction on the one hand, and the previous background knowledge on the other hand are given more importance as they become a basic feature of reading comprehension.
The top-down model, however, could be criticized as it gives little importance to visual decoding (Davis, 1995:63). Further, a reader may probably have a poor background knowledge on which he can rely.In fact,this may reduce the value of this model of reading. It can be also noted that top-down model gives prediction more importance than necessary while a text can be processed in a very fast manner.
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I.3.3. Interactive Model
The interactive model of reading is mostly associated with two famous researchers: LaBerge and Samuels. This model has come to compile the strengths of both the bottom-up and top-down models. Samuels states:" the model assumes that an individual will work at the highest level (comprehension) and drop down to lower levels (word recognition) when processing at the highest level becomes ineffective” (1974: 323). Typically, the main focus of this model is on the high level which represents the top-down model. That is, a reader, in most cases, tends to use the top-down model (processing the meaning from the previous gained background knowledge), but, in case he/she is confronted with an unfamiliar word, he/she activates and shifts to the lower level which is represented by the bottom-up model. i.e. the reader moves to check the graphemes of that word.
Rumelhart (1977:600) comes with a new concept depicting reading with regard to both background knowledge, and the possibility that the text itself can play the role of a stimulus. That model is called the "interactive model". It was the sum of so many attempts to explain how the readers process information or knowledge from multiple sources at the same time. The reader may use his/her previous linguistic knowledge as a prediction generator, then immediately checks its compatibility with the text, or the text itself may play the role of a stimulus, providing the necessary hints that facilitates the task of knowledge recalling by the reader.
I.3.4. Transactional Model
Rosenbaltt (1998: 918) believes that the reading theories that sum up the whole reading process in just decoding, or favour the reader above the text as incomplete. She rejects those theories. Instead, Rosenbaltt devotes great importance to the situated "relationship" between a reader and a text regarding knowledge transfer. Rosenbalt (1994: 16) defines reading as an
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event that should be treated with an a approach that highly estimates the process of knowledge transfer, as it involves a relationship between a reader and a text. Furthermore, reading happens at a particular time and in a particular place, in which each element conditions the other.
The principles of the transactional approach of reading differ, to a large extent, from the principles of the previously mentioned theories of reading. Rosenbalt (1985: 100) differentiates between her view of reading and other approaches as she states:
"Instead of ... the dualistic, mechanistic, linear, interactional view, in which the text, ... and the personality of the reader ... can be separately analyzed, with the impact of one on the other studied in a vacuum, we need to see the reading act as an event involving a particular individual and a particular text, happening at a particular time, under particular circumstances, in a particular social and cultural setting, and as part of the on-going life of the individual and the group. We can still distinguish the elements ..not as separate entities, but as aspects of phases of a dynamic process, in which all elements take on their character as part of the organically-interrelated situation."
Clearly, Rosenbaltt calls to review the reading fact in new dimensions as she applies a shift from separately considering the factors contributing in reading, to engage in dealing with the variables affecting reading as they happen in real time, giving them equal concern. So, the transactional approach of reading could be linked with broader theories of behaviours that are typically based on the inter-connectedness of the human activity (Rosenbalt, 1994: 16)
Rumelhart (1985: 580) thinks that beyond the three above mentioned models of reading (the bottom-up, the top-down, and the interactive model) there is another model that could be added to the list. He comes with the assumption that the process of comprehension goes in
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parallel between the reader and the text. That notion can be described as the transactional model of reading.
Kamhi (1997:67) believes that the transactional model is built on three strategic instruction principles: first of all, the reader is an active thinker who uses the written language as a starting point for meaning construction. Second, as far as individual differences are concerned, the interpretation of texts may, but not necessarily, differ from one reader to another. Thirdly,the social context of the text plays a crucial role as it affects the transaction of reading.
Dealing with inferring and prediction as reading strategies, Moreillon (2007: 21) describes the nature of reading as " … if we understand reading as a transaction between a text, a reader, and the context in which the work is experienced, then the literal denotation of the words on the page and the content of illustrations are only parts of the story."
As it was mentioned earlier, the transactional nature of reading imposes that the readers differ in their interpretations of texts as every reader exhibits a unique transaction while reading. So, the role of the reader, in making meaning, is highly honoured as it is as much important as the text is.
I.4. Reading Strategies
Reading is, by no means, an arbitrary behaviour. It should be systematic and following some criteria, such as the use of reading strategies. Alexander and Judy (1988: 376) describe a strategy as a "goal-directed procedure … planfully or intentionally evoked … that aid in the regulation, execution, or evaluation of a task."
McNamara (2007: 06) defines reading comprehension strategy as a "cognitive or behavioural action that is enacted under particular contextual conditions, with the goal of
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improving some aspect of comprehension.".To illustrate this definition, he has given the example of checking the dictionary by the pupils, when confronted with ambiguous words, as a behavioural strategy. Whereas, the action of reading that same word in the dictionary may demonstrate some sort of cognitive processing.
If well implemented, reading strategies, to a large extent, facilitate the task of the readers in comprehending written materials. However, readers may exhibit an unconscious use of reading strategies, as they may not be equipped with a formal knowledge concerning these strategies. Reading strategies are likely to be taught to novice readers who are struggling and reading with difficulties.
Anderson (2002: 20) emphasises the importance of "orchestrating" more than one reading strategy. Such integration of those strategies makes the difference between successful and unsuccessful language learners. Pressly et al (1998:171) argue that the reading proficiency that helps in text comprehension relies on the use of one or more metacognitive strategies. These authors declare that if a repertoire of strategies was given to the students, comprehension would significantly improve.
It is clear that using reading strategies is just more than necessary for foreign language readers.
The implementation of the reading strategies is said to help both the students and the teachers in the task of teaching reading. The students who tend to optimally adopt those strategies make the teaching/learning process more rapid. However, if the students exhibit a poor use of those strategies, they may be hindered to continue the teaching/learning process.
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I.4.1. Skimming
Skimming is a very common term among researchers, teachers and learners. Harmer (2001: 202) defines skimming as "… running your eyes over a text to get a quick idea of the gist of a text…". Harmer gives "skimming" a great importance as he mentions that encouraging the students to get a rapid look, or a rapid eye movement at the text, before going deeper for more details, is very profitable. By doing so, the students will be able to access a torrent of texts, and understand their "gist" without wasting time in obsessively reading every detail. So, the power of skimming as a strategy can be clearly noticed because it saves time and reduce effort.
Brown (2001: 308) emphasises the importance of skimming as a reading strategy. He declares that skimming reflects the behaviour of quickly running the eyes through a whole piece of writing, be it an essay, an article or a chapter, for the general gist. It is advantageous, in the sense that, it gives the readers the ability to predict and to expect the purpose of the passage and its main topic.
Skimming can frequently occur in the classroom, as the students are usually asked to read, for a limited time, before they embark on other types of activities. So, this strategy of reading is widely encouraged.
I.4.2. Scanning
This reading strategy may have other labels. Harmer, for instance, refers to -scanning- as "reading for specific information"(2001: 202). Harmer argues that when we jump directly to a specific piece of information in a text, we exhibit the use of "scanning" as a reading strategy. Harmer (ibid) gives an example for implementing this strategy. " We may quickly look through a film review to find the name of the director or the star. In both cases, we
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almost ignore all the other information until we come to the specific item we are looking for." Other examples illustrating the scanning strategy may include checking the schedule of a specific programme on T.V.
Brown (2001: 308) argues that the purpose of scanning is to extract specific information without reading through the whole text. While scanning, the students (the readers) quickly search for some particular piece of information in the print. Exercises which require as scanning may lead the students to look for names, dates, or even to find definitions of a key concept. Brown, declares that in academic fields, scanning is absolutely essential. However, in vocational English, scanning may be given little importance.
I.4.3.Reading between the Lines
Generally speaking, this strategy of reading is usually referred to as "inferring".Moreillon (2007:76) states that "inferences require that readers go beyond literal meanings; they use the print and illustrations plus prior knowledge and experience to interpret the text." It is through such implementation of these processes, that readers become able to detect hints, connect points, make either prediction or inferences, and finally draw conclusions.
Moreillon (ibid) differentiates between "predicting" that is built "on the line", and inferring that is built "between the lines". She sharpens the differences as she claims that predictions are just expectations about what will happen next in the coming lines of the written prints, based on what has been previously declared or mentioned.
Brown (2001: 310) states that, sometimes, the written print may mean more than just what is printed. He suggests that certain words may mean the opposite of what could be superficially understood, as the same word may contain a literal meaning and a hidden
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message. Brown (ibid) highly estimates the importance of distinguishing between literal and implied meanings. To be able to do so, the readers should demonstrate a very sophisticated top-down processing skills. As a fact, not all the language is interpreted by just processing the literal, syntactic surface structure. Henceforth, implied meanings are likely to be derived from processing pragmatic information.
McNamara (2007: 49) states that it is very essential to ensure a good understanding of written texts through inference-making as the writers do not, obsessively, include every little detail in their pieces of writing. Otherwise, the texts become lengthy and possibly boring. Now, the role of the reader as an inference-maker comes. S/he is supposed to make up the gaps that are not explicitly stated or shown in the text. The reader would likely to do this either by the integration of statements in the text, or simply by activating a general knowledge with information found in the texts.
Teaching inference strategy is said to be very rewarding to both students, and educators, as the former are asked to interact with the literal meanings found in the print. The students would not be limited to read just simple language. Sometimes, a text necessitates that the students should be equipped with the capacity of analysing the deep meaning of the texts.
I.5. Reading Assessment
Assessing reading comprehension can be of paramount importance. It could be implemented especially in designing programs that teach reading strategies. It may also help in diagnosing the readers’ weaknesses concerning reading itself. This can allow the trainers, and educators to adapt programs of reading, responding to the particular needs of the readers.
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Alderson (2000: 85) states that researchers who are investigating "reading assessment", may demonstrate great concern in how well reading performance, if tested, would predict how examinees (readers, students) tend to read in other real-world settings. These same researchers may have more interest in exploring the cognitive characteristics and background variables contributing in test performance.
Undoubtedly, Alderson estimates that reading assessment is very important for so many aspects. It could be directly understood that testing the reading performance may uncover the readers' behaviour as it occurs in the natural environment.
The nature of reading assessment may also be affected by various factors. Alderson (ibid), states that "…Thus, reading comprehension assessments that seek to support instructional decision-making for language learners from different cultural/linguistic backgrounds must take into consideration how cultural/linguistic differences affect test performance.". He means that reading comprehension assessment is not as simple as it seems. One of the most serious factors that should be taken into account during the process of assessment is the cultural backgrounds and its influence, with the linguistic settings, on the reading comprehension process as being tested.
Even though reading assessment becomes an urge in the fields of linguistics, current reading assessment approaches seem to be inconvenient. Snow (2002: 53) criticises the currently available reading comprehension assessment. She argues that those assessments, persistently, generate complaints that these instruments "inadequately represent the complexity of the target domain". She also argues that the pioneering assessment methods confuse comprehension with vocabulary, word reading ability, domain specific knowledge, and other capacities involved in comprehension. Furthermore, they are unidimentional and
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method-dependent as they seriously failed in addressing minimal requirements of validity and reliability.
Conclusion
This chapter has,theoretically, explored the nature of reading as it exists in reality, though every scholar, intentionally or unintentionally, focuses more on a specific point concerning the reading fact. However, all of them agree on some assumptions that reading is very complex in nature; as it involves several cognitive processes to be activated, not arbitrarily, but rather systematically and harmoniously. It becomes widely agreed that reading is the sum of two activities, decoding (word recognition) and comprehension.However, it would be very interesting if importance is given to both the reader and the text together, as reading may represent a phenomenon that is controlled not only by a contributing factor, but by so many.
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Chapter II : Reading Comprehension
Introduction ……….20
II.1. Definition of Reading Comprehension ………..…20
II.2. Levels of Reading Comprehension ……….……….22
II.2.1. Decoding ………..23
II.2.1. Linguistic Comprehension ………...……….24
II.3. Components of Reading Comprehension ……..………...25
II.3.1. Background knowledge ………...25
II.3.2. Inferencing ……….25
II.3.3. Strategies……….26
II.3.4. Vocabulory………....…27
II.3.5. Word Reading...……….….27
II.4. Reading Comprehension Strategies………..…28
II.4.1. Activating or Building Background Knowledge………...…28
II.4.2. Using Sensory Images………...29
II.4.3. Questioning……….…...….29
II.4.4. Making Predictions and Inferences………...…..30
II.4.5. Determining main ideas………...…..30
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II.4.7. Synthesizing……….……...31
II.5. Factors Affecting Reading comprehension………..…31
II.5.1. Text Variables……….32
II.5.1.1. Vocabulory………..…32
II.5.1.2. Text Type………....33
II.5.1.3. Coherence and Cohesion………..…33
II.5.1.4. Automaticity………..….34
II.5.1.5. Syntax………..35
II.5.2. Reader Variables ……….36
II.5.2.1. Purpose of Reading .………..36
II.5.2.2. Interest level in the Text ………...37
II.5.2.3. Reader’s language proficiency ……….…37
II.5.2.4. Culture ………...38
II.5.2.5. Knowledge of the Topic………38
II.6. Effective Reading Comprehension Instruction ……….38
II.6.1. The Pre-reading Phase………..….39
II.6.2. The While-reading Phase ...………39
II.6.3. The Post-reading Phase ……….39
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II.7.1. Cloze Procedure ……….40
II.7.2. Multiple Choice Questions ………..41
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Chapter II: Reading Comprehension
Introduction
Although research in reading comprehension has enormously progressed, its application in actual teaching/ learning settings is still in its infancy. Learners face difficulty in reading comprehension, and teachers often take trouble to implement the appropriate strategies to avoid this problem. This chapter, will present the reader with an overall view about reading comprehension, its components, its strategies and the various variables that affect this process.
II.1. Definition of Reading Comprehension
Although it is commonly acknowledged that reading comprehension is an important skill for school and social success, there is no consensus about its definition. Comprehension literally means understanding what one reads. Reading comprehension is a very complex process, and this explains why it remains a topic of intense debate. It is a process that involves constructing meaning by connecting what the reader has read with the stored mental framework. Reading comprehension is regarded as “ the essence of reading”. It entails many definitions:
Durkin (1993: 31) defines it as an “intentional thinking during which meaning is constructed through interaction between text and reader”. In counter point, Perfetti (1995) suggests that “reading comprehension is thinking skill guided by print”(cited in Behjat et al., 2012: 248)
Holding to the same position, Harris and Hodges (1995: 18) claim that reading comprehension is “the construction of the meaning of a written text through a reciprocal interchange of ideas between the reader and the message in a particular text”.
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Other researchers preferred to add more specificity to their descriptions of reading comprehension. Sweet and Snow (2003) define reading comprehension as a dynamic and interactive process between three elements the reader, the text, the reading activity, and the large socio-cultural context. (p. xiii-xv).
II.1.1. The reader
; where s/he involves his/ her cognitive processes (memory, attention, inferencing…etc.), motivation (interest, self-efficacy), knowledge (vocabulary), and experience. In other words, learners need to become engaged readers.II.1.2. The text
; where the individual constructs the different representations of the text. These representations include thesurface code (the word as it is mentioned in the text), thetext base (the main ideas representing the meaning of the text), and the mental models (the
way in which information is processed for meaning).
II.1.3. The reading activity
; which refers to the ultimate end of reading. Any activity is done for a particular purpose. It may have one or more aims.The previously mentioned elements occur within a large socio-cultural context as it is represented in “Figure 1.1”. The latter influences, and is influenced by the reader who is already interacting with the three elements.
II
.1.4. The large socio-cultural context
; which refers to the various capacities that learners bring in the reading environment (classrooms) which are influenced by their experiences in their homes.44
Figure 01A Heuristic for Thinking About Reading Comprehension (Adapted
from RAND Reading Study Group, 2002)
Comprehension includes higher level processes, for example, memory, inferencing, word identification and so forth. The production of these latter processes is the reason that lead to low level/ automatic processes (Perfetti, 2007: 358).
II.2. Levels of Reading Comprehension
Gough and Tunmer (1986: 07) have broadened the notion of reading as the latter could be divided into two independent elements: decoding (word recognition), and linguistic comprehension.
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II.2.1. Decoding
Decoding has been regarded as the ability to convert the written input into semantic information. It is considered to be the genesis of reading comprehension, as beginner readers, may first, acquire this feature before moving to the upper level of linguistic comprehension.
Brian (1993: 06) defines decoding as the ability to, immediately, derive meanings from graphic representations of words. He used another term, referring to decoding, as "word recognition". Word recognition has been previously investigated by Gough and Hillinger (1980: 113). The latter expand the notion of word recognition to include two types of mechanisms. The first deals with phonological coding (ibid). Gough and Hillinger (ibid) state that "phonological coding is based on knowledge of the cipher, which captures the letter-sound correspondence to the rules of the language. This will ,then, be used as a door access to the meanings of words in the mental lexicon. This mental lexicon is thought to be organized by phonological codes as a result of language acquisition” (cited in Leybaert &Alegría, 1999: 28).
Spencer and Hay (1998) assert the importance of word recognition as a critical element in the mastery of reading (cited in Al-Farra, 2011: 17). Thus, novice readers would be inhibited in the process of reading, as they lack an rapid automatic word recognition. On the other hand, advanced and expert readers tend to use a set of orthographic data in recognizing letters, morphemes, word patterns, and letter clusters.
Decoding has taken so many different names, despite those suggestions may differ in nature with decoding. For instance, "phonics" has been used interchangeably with the term decoding by Chall (1967: 05).
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II.2.2. Linguistic Comprehension
Linguistic comprehension may seem similar, or an alternative term for "reading comprehension". However, there is a great difference between the two.
Brian (1993: 08) clarifies the concept of linguistic comprehension in simple terms, as he reports that it is the ability to generate interpretations for sentences and discourse, based on the semantic information at the lower word level. He differentiates between reading comprehension and linguistic comprehension. For him, there is a great contrast between comprehension that seeks for the extraction of all the surrounding significances that can a printed material reveal, which is the linguistic comprehension, and the reading comprehension that just allows the reader to access a general idea, or scanning for a specific detail.
Gough and Tunmer (1986: 07) note that:
Reading equals the product of decoding and comprehension. Or R=D*C, where each variable ranges from 0(nullity) to 1 (perfection). We trust that it is clear that by comprehension we mean, not reading comprehension, but rather linguistic comprehension, that is, the process by which, given lexical (i.e., word) information, sentences and discourses are interpreted.
It could be clearly understood, from what Gough and Tunmer havementioned that reading is decomposed into two levels. One, is word recognition (presented as decoding), andthe other is, linguistic comprehension which is certainly different from (reading comprehension).
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Figure 02TheSimple View of Reading (SVR)
II.3. Components of Reading Comprehension
Cromley and Azevedo (2004)introduce the model of reading comprehension, named the Inferential Mediation Model (IM) (cited in Cromley, 2005: 08). This model shows the relationship between: Background knowledge, inferencing, Strategies, Vocabulary, and Word Reading Accuracy. The latter presents the components of the reading comprehension process.
II. 3.1. Background knowledge
Background knowledge is, simply, the existing information that one already knows about a topic, or an event. It is regarded as the starting point for understanding (Meyer & Rice, 1984: 350). Background knowledge/ prior knowledge helps the reader make connections and predictions. Thus, facilitating comprehension.
The reader’s background knowledge of the world around him/her in the top-down model is referred to as schemata. Schema theory states that all knowledge is organized into units, within these units of knowledge, there is stored information. Schema, then, is a generalized description or a conceptual system for understanding knowledge; how knowledge is presented, and how it is used.
II.3.2. Inferencing
Nikki (2013) notes that inferencing is among the noticed skills that are needed in the acquisition of the reading comprehension process (p. 55). It is an on-line strategy (Van
Decoding
Reading
Comprehension Linguistic
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Elsäcker, 2012: 19): a logical process or device that the reader uses when he/she makes a kind of combination between sentences of the same text, or even between his/ her prior knowledge and the encountered text. As such, it can be simple as associating the pronoun “she” with the previously mentioned female pronoun, or complex as combining the conveyed message with one’s prior knowledge (Kispal, 2008: 02). According to Crowe (2007) inferencing is “an essential skill for students to comprehend a wide variety of texts” (p. 54). It has been seen that inferencing is a principal factor for overall comprehension regardless of the other components if they are controlled or not (Cain & Oakhill 1999 as cited in Nikki, 2013: 68).
In a chart adapted by Perfetti in 1999, he claims that the cognitive architecture for reading moves through certain steps. Among the steps mentioned, there is inferencing which is the one that creates a coherent referential model for what is being read (Perfetti, 2001: 12801). Yuill and Oakhill (1991) suggest three possibilities to explain inference-making differences between skilled and less-skilled comprehenders: “ (1) General knowledge deficits restrict less-skilled comprehenders' inference making. (2) Less-skilled comprehenders do not know when it is appropriate to draw inferences. (3) Less-skilled comprehenders have processing limitations, which hamper their ability to make inferences and integrate text information with prior knowledge.” (Perfetti at al., 2005: 232).
Thus, proficient readers opt for inferencing as a key tool for the sake of understanding the missed words in the text opposing to the less proficient readers.
II. 3.3. Strategies
Strategy use is among the three characteristics of engaged reading, including: reading motivation and reading comprehension (Guthrie et al., 2004: 404). Reading comprehension
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involves both cognitive and metacognitive strategies. These strategies help the reader to describe, organize, evaluate (Ediger, 2006: 307) and understand better what has been read.
In general, proficient readers are not necessarily conscious about their strategies, but they are able to verbalize them whenever they are asked. They are aware about which type of strategies they need , and when to use them. On the contrary, novice readers face difficulty in using their metacognitive strategies.
II. 3.4. Vocabulary
One of the basic aspects of comprehension is the ability to deal with unfamiliar words conveyed by the text. Vocabulary knowledge is a fundamental contributor for reading achievement (Richek, 2005 as cited in OERP, 2007: 53) and word recognition (Learning Point Associates, 2004: 22). Rich vocabulary underpins the ability to understand, and to use words effectively and appropriately to foster better comprehension. Its development is an on-going process that continues throughout instruction and practice.
According to the NRP (2002), readers can learn the new vocabulary either implicitly through rereading what they have already seen in the classroom, or explicitly through communicating with others (p. 04).
II. 3.5. Word Reading
Word reading is a word-level skill. It includes the association of both phonological and visual skills. According to Oakhill and Cain (2007) “Word reading and reading comprehension are highly related skills” (p. 47). Word reading is different from vocabulary knowledge in the sense that, word reading does not necessarily ensure good comprehension. It is reviewed that a successful word reading depends basically on decoding abilities (Paratore et al., 2010: 110).
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II.4. Reading Comprehension Strategies
Successful reading comprehension depends on the ability to, reliably, have access to all the strategies that enable learners to understand, without the interference of the teacher or other devices. One of the methods described by researchers to foster reading ability, is reading strategy instruction, which is concerned with reading comprehension problems that impede learners’ understanding.
According to the New South Wales (2010) “Comprehension strategies are the cognitive and metacognitive strategies readers use to accomplish the goal of comprehension” (p. 4). In fact, the NRP (2000) suggests, within the literature, a number of strategies to make from learners purposeful and active readers.
II.4.1. Activating or Building Background Knowledge
Background knowledge is what the learner brings when s/he is engaged in the reading process. Activating background knowledge helps the reader make connections between new, and known information. It should be implemented before, while, and after reading to enhance understanding.
Some researchers use a kind of charts called the K-W-L (What do we already Know? What do we Wonderabout? What did we Learn?). It was elaborated by Ogle in 2004. This
chart assists learners in how to use their background knowledge (Moreillon. 2007: 20).
Table01Ogle’s (1987) K-W-L Chart
K W L
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Keene and Zimmerman (1997) claim that using thebackground knowledge is divided into three categories of connection: text-to-self (it is the connection made between the text and the reader's personal experience), text-to-text (It is the connection between the text being read and the already read text), and text-to-world (it is the connection between the text being read and what actually occurring in the reader’s real world) (cited in Moreillon, 2007: 21).
II.4.2. Using Sensory Images
Multiple intelligences theory of Gardner (1983) suggests that each person possesses several intelligences which enable him/ her to learn in different ways: learners who are gifted with visual or bodily-kinesthetic intelligences use their senses to connect the characters, events, and ideas to clarify the picture and to comprehend what they encounter during reading. Visualizing requires learners to create pictures in their minds (Gardner, 2011: 01). According to Moreillon (2007) this strategy is a crucial feature of our prior knowledge and schema (p. 39).
II.4.3. Questioning
“Questioning is among the social competencies that children bring with them to their schooling” (Moreillon, 2007: 58). It, first, begins at home with childrens’ parents and surroundings: the child asks questions, and the parents answer. As a child progresses, this strategy will be switched: the teacher asks questions, and the learner is supposed to answer.
Good readers ask and answer questions before, during, and after their reading; in this way, they will promote a deeper understanding and raise their awareness about the significant points of the text.
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II.4.4. Making Predictions and Inferences
This strategy requires readers' background knowledge to find information that can be clues to answer questions . It involves also the “reading between the line” strategy of inferencing and “on line” strategy of predicting to anticipate what will happen next (Moreillon, 2007: 76).
In fact, good readers who make predictions and inferences along the three phases (before- during- after), are likely to be actively engaged in their construction of meaning and the evaluation of their prediction.
II.4.5. Determining main ideas
It requires learners to recall, and to arrange the important ideas. It is the ability to separate the most important ideas from the least important ones. Determining the main ideas strategy depends on the purpose of reading the text, the passage, the chapter…etc (ibid). Good readers use this strategy to imply main ideas, to summarize texts, and to make value judgments.
II.4.6. Using Fix-Up Options
It is among the strategies that good readers opt for. Because, unlike novice readers, good readers know how to monitor their progress. The Fix-up options give the readers anopportunity to use a variety of strategies such as re-reading, reading ahead, clarifying words to recover the meaning. ( Moreillon, 2007: 114).
